Wildcats pounce on LC early

Tuesday

Feb 26, 2013 at 4:48 PMFeb 26, 2013 at 4:51 PM

Oak Ridge must have thought the basket was as big as the ocean on Saturday. On a night when the Oak Ridge student section were decked out in their beachwear, the Oak Ridge Wildcats on the court rode a wave of 3-pointers to a 30-10 first quarter lead and won going away 77-52 over Lenoir City.

Robert Holder

Oak Ridge must have thought the basket was as big as the ocean on Saturday. On a night when the Oak Ridge student section were decked out in their beachwear, the Oak Ridge Wildcats on the court rode a wave of 3-pointers to a 30-10 first quarter lead and won going away 77-52 over Lenoir City.

“You don’t have any control over how many you are going to make or how many you are going to miss,” coach Aaron Green said. “If those are not falling, you still have to play the same way and keep getting good shots.”

Oak Ridge (25-5) didn’t have to worry about that. They opened the game going 5 of 5 beyond the arc. Sharpshooter Cory Fagan led the way with a pair from the corner.

Jaylin Henderson and Rashad Gray added to the fury, as well. By the time the two teams reached halftime, the Panthers looked to the scoreboard and saw they were down 51-22.

“The first quarter was the difference,” coach Green said. “We took any momentum they had coming in right away off the bat.

“We shot it really well. We drove it, kicked it, played unselfish, got it inside, got it out in transition and we were really, really aggressive offensively.”

The ’Cats finished with five players in double figures. Henderson, Gray and Isaac Merian reached double digits in the first half.

“That tells us one thing — we are sharing the ball,” coach Green said.

Henderson led the way with 14. Rian Hall and Merian had 13 each and Fagan had 12 on four 3-pointers. Gray finished with 10 as Oak Ridge advanced past the first round of the Region 2-AAA Tournament for the third time in the last five years.

“You can’t really get caught up in the consequences of winning and losing the game,” Green said. “You have to focus on playing hard and playing aggressive. The rest will take care of itself.”

Lenoir City (16-17) was led by Jordan Hall with 21 points. Hall had just 7 in the first half. Dylan Brewster had nine points on three 3-pointers.

Oak Ridge will host the two Region 2-AAA semifinals Tuesday as Powell (24-3) will square off against Maryville (26-6) at 6 p.m. Oak Ridge will face Bearden (27-5) at 7:30 p.m.

The winners will earn a Sectional berth and play on Thursday.

Coach Green said he expects a packed Wildcat Arena on Tuesday with Bearden fans coming up Pellissippi Parkway for the important game. He said he hopes to see plenty of Oak Ridge fans there, as well.

“Bearden has a good tradition of basketball,” Green said. “They will be well-coached and well-prepared. There are four really good teams left in our Region. These next two days of preparation will be key.”